


Everything Sucks Continued

by Aspen625



Category: Everything Sucks (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29707896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aspen625/pseuds/Aspen625
Summary: As the school year continues at Borning High so does the drama.
Relationships: Emaline Addario/Kate Messner, Ken Messner/Sherry O'Neil
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

Emaline sat in her car with a huge smile on her face. The thought of a certain brunette was fresh in her mind. Things had gotten so complicated in the last 24 hours. Was she into girls? Was she even into guys? It didn’t feel like it, seeing as though all her and Oliver ever did was fight, makeout and fight some more.

She never felt like either one of them had genuine feelings for each other. Back in freshman year Oliver took her to the drama room and asked her out. At the time her heart truly beat for him. She was head over heels of the idea of having a lover. But as time wore on both of them began to draw out crazy scenes in front of the whole school to mask the void that had been created between the both of them. She had to admit she liked the attention, but at the end of the day, she was up in her head, while her and Oliver's relationship began to fall apart.

Night after night both of them sat on the phone yelling at each other over petty bullshit. She never understood why she craved the yelling exchanges but she did. Drama was her life, whether it was at school or at home there was always something going on.

Realizing her father was expecting her home soon she put her car in drive.

~

Kate and her father sat at the O’Neils dining room table. Luke and his mother were in the kitchen preparing dinner. Her father had a huge smile on his face as he waited for dinner to be served. Kate knew he had finally found a source of happiness after her mother passed away. She was so thankful she had the courage to talk to Luke that day at the bridge.

A knock at the door caught both family’s attention. A low voice, Kate assumed was a man’s filled the house. Luke yelled at the figure and slammed the door.

Startling both Kate and her father excused themselves for the table and met Luke near the door.

“Luke honey what was all the commotion?” Ms. O’Neil asked, wiping her hands in a hand towel.

“Oh noth-” he replied, getting interrupted by another knock at the door.

Sherry raised her brow at Luke and answered the door. “Leroy?”

“Sherry,” he smiled.

Kate looked over at her father. His face had fallen, his eyes were glued to the floor. By then everyone was well aware of who stood at the door. Kate felt her head fall into her dad’s shoulder to comfort him.

“Leroy what in the hell are you doing here!” Sherry finally found her words after a painfully long silence. Her voice was far from warm.

Leroy seemed surprised once his eyes found her father. “Oh, I’m sorry I’m not sure we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.” His tone, more of a knock at him than genuine.

“Luke, Kate why don’t you go to the basement.” Sherry started, eyeing Luke to bring the both of them down there.

“But mom we need to do this as a family,” Luke mumbled. His mother shook her head pointing to the basement door.

Luke glanced at Leroy then back to his mother. Without another word, he motioned for Kate to follow him. Before reaching the basement stairs, she caught one last glimpse of Leroy.

This was all her fault. It was her who brought Luke to the Blockbusters to reunite him with his father. It was her who helped Luke’s father decide to return to Boring. It was all her, she was so damn stupid.

Luke sat on the couch, his eyes focused on the tv. Kate is not far from him, fidgeting with a bracelet on her wrist. There was a great amount of tension building between the two of them.

“Luke,” she started, her voice came out a little squeaky. She hadn’t realized how anxious she had become. “I’m sorry, this is all my fault. I’m a complete idiot for forcing you to see your father.”

Luke turned to face her. His face was hard to read. “Kate it’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault but my father for this.”

“No, it is, I’m the one who looked him up in the phonebook and drove you to meet him.” She said, scratching a spot on her wrist.

His expression became remorseful. “No no no, don’t blame yourself, Kate. He’s always been an asshole. I’m kinda glad he showed up.” he laughed to himself. Kate was puzzled as Luke chuckled. “Now that he’s here I can finally confront him for all the shit he caused after he left.”

Kate wouldn’t be lying if she thought Luke was just trying to make her feel better. She knew it was her fault for all this bullshit. She offered to go the safe route and nod to reassure him. Luke put on a movie to distract the both of them from the yelling coming directly above them.

~

McQuaid walked down a dark and empty sidewalk. His mind kept replacing Emaline’s lips connected with Kate’s. After everything he thought Emaline and him had, it was brutally crushed in a mere second.

What was he thinking? How could a girl like Emaline fall for a complete nerd like him? She wasn’t his. She was Kate’s. The last person McQuaid thought Emaline would be into. Pushing his feelings away for Emaline he turned into Tyler’s driveway.

Making his way towards the steps he heard laughter coming from inside. Knocking on the door loud footsteps approached him.

“McQuaid!” Tyler greeted excitedly, pulling on his arm to join him inside.

“Tyler let go of me,” McQuaid demanded, once inside. Tyler’s younger brother Austin sat on the couch watching cartoons with their parents.

A familiar voice called from the sofa. “McQuaid it’s nice to see you. You were wonderful in the movie.”

A smile formed on McQuaid’s face. “Thank you, Ms. Bowen.”

Tyler rolled his eyes and dragged McQuaid away from his family. “We will be in my room.”

McQuaid flopped on Tyler’s bed sighing dramatically. Tyler ignored him and began to fiddle with his tv. “So, the movie was sick don’t you think? Especially me.” Tyler bragged, smiling as he joined McQuaid on his bed.

Mcquaid scoffed. “Please, I had way more lines than you. Plus I got to kiss Emaline.”

“Oh right, what happened after you went to go find her? Tyler asked as he channel-surfed through his tv.

McQuaid not quite sure if he should tell Tyler about what happened he just sat there in silence.

“Earth to Mcquaid are you there?” Tyler snapped his fingers next to McQuaid’s ear.

“Yes, now stop,” he said, annoyed. “I couldn’t find her. She must have left.”

Tyler smirked. “With Kate, I bet they made out in her car or something. Emaline would totally go for something like that. ”

McQuaid gagged at the thought of the two of them kissing. It was horrible for him to think about, let alone actually witness it.

“Dude, does that gross you out that much?”

“Matter of fact, it does,” McQuaid jokes, grabbing the remote from Tyler.

~

Emaline snuck into her backyard to avoid her father. She knew she was way past curfew and wanted to be able to make it to her room without being busted by him. She stood on top of the platform covering the stairs to her basement and jumped enough to hoist herself through the window.

A voice greeted her. “Em, what are you doing sneaking into your bedroom window?”

She sighed with relief. “Julia what the fuck. You scared the shit out of me.”

Emaline’s sister stood there with a big smile on her face. “I came to your room earlier and you weren’t here. Wait until I tell dad about this.”

Emaline unamused crossed her arms. “No, you’re not.”

Julia turned on her heel to leave but was stopped by Emaline’s arm. Emaline glared at her sister, quickly closing her bedroom door. “You know what dad would do if he found out. He’s always pissed at me.”

“I don’t care Emaline. I’m done covering for your ass.” Julia scoffed, trying to break free from Emaline’s grip.

“Please Julia, I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Fine” Julia mumbled. “I’ll cover for you. This the last time though.”

“Thanks, Jules,” she smiled, leaning into an awkward hug.

Julia left, Emaline got ready for bed, and was currently sitting next to her phone. She held a wrinkled piece of paper in one hand and the phone in the other. It read 503-234-1424 Kate M.

_Earlier that night, after the movie and the kiss, the two girls laid on the stage staring at each other. Not much was said, Emaline enjoyed the silence. Her eyes studied Kate’s features. She admired Kate. How she walked into school every day without a face full of makeup. Kate embraced her natural face without feeling the need to cover it up. Slowly she brought her hand up to the brunette’s face, softly running her fingers down it. Kate giggled while a small blush crossed her face._

_“I’m sorry” Emaline confessed, she kept her eyes locked with Kate’s. She had never been this vulnerable with anyone else._

_Kate furrowed her eyebrows scooting closer to Emaline. They were now only inches away from one another. “For what?”_

_“I’m sorry for everything. For writing dyke on your locker, making you grab my boobs and all the bitchy shit I did to you.” Tears were now forming in Emaline’s eyes. In all honesty, she was sorry. For years it was all she knew. Before high school, she didn’t have many friends if any. Midway through Sophomore year, a role came along. She auditioned and got it. While on stage she felt like anything was possible when she hid behind the persona of the character._

_Not long after she began dating Oliver. Without realizing it she was slowly becoming more and more like the character she played on stage. It was easier to hide behind a version of herself that many people feared. But underneath all the facades she wasn’t happy. It never felt good to put other people down for her personal gain._

_Kate’s gaze was still fixed on Emaline. “It’s okay Em, we all make mistakes.” Her hands wiped the tears now present on Emailne’s face off._

_A small smile formed on Emaline’s lips. Her hands find themselves around Kate’s waist. A sigh left Kate’s mouth as Emaline nestled her head into her chest._

Emaline’s fingers ran over the writing on the piece of paper. She hadn’t ever been this nervous to dial someone’s number. Her hands were trembling as she punched the numbers in one by one. Once the phone began to ring she immediately hung up.

After rehearsing what she would say once Kate picked up the phone over and over again Emaline finally picked up the phone again. This time she let it ring. A voice came through after the third ring.

“Hello?” Kate asked, she sounded stuffy as if she was just crying moments before picking up the phone.

She bit her lip. “Kate, it’s Emaline, is everything okay?”

“Oh hey Em, I’m glad you called.” Kate’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper. “Things kinda got out of hand after the movie premiere. I’m sorry I didn’t call first.”

“Don’t apologize, sweetie, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Emaline replied, trying to reassure her.

“Thanks, it’s great to hear your voice.”

Emaline blushed as she heard Kate’s words. The two of them talked for hours until both of them fell asleep.

~

Tyler’s bike slowed as he approached Boring High. It was the Monday after the movie premiered. He was excited to catch up with his friends. McQuaid ended up spending the night and they stayed up late watching Startrack.

“McQuaid!” he yelled. McQuaid was headed toward the school. He stopped in his tracks, turning to face Tyler’s direction.

McQuaid used his index finger to push his glasses up further against his nose. “Hey, how did the rest of your weekend end up going?”

Tyler pushed his bike to the racks near the front entrance, McQuaid soon joined him. “It was pretty boring Austin made me play pack-man with him for like the whole day on Saturday.”

“Must have sucked,” McQuaid replied, waiting for Tyler to lock his bike.

“McQuaid!” Emaline said from the distance, drawing out his name. McQuaid glanced over in her direction rolling his eyes.

Tyler leaned close to McQuaid, whispering into his ear. “What’s wrong. Why are you mad at her?”

McQuaid lightly pushed Tyler away. “Tyler, remember what I told you about personal space,” he warned.

“Oh yeah, sorry dude.”

“What’s up nerds,” Emaline announced, playfully shoving the both of them.

Tyler smiled, while McQuaid scoffed and walked away from the group. “What’s his problem.” She asked as they watched McQuaid storm away.

Tyler only shrugged as they walked into the loud crowded halls of Boring. Tyler scanned the halls for any sign for Luke, he was left disappointed when he reached his locker. Where could he be? It wasn’t like Luke to miss school.

_“No Leroy, we don’t want you here. Please leave now.” Sherry said pointing a finger towards the front door._

_Leroy stood his ground, not fazed in the slightest. “Sherry, he's my son. You can’t stop me from spending time with him.”_

_Sherry stepped closer to him. “No, he's not. He stopped being your son the day you walked out that door.” She gestured towards the door behind him._

_Luke appeared next to his mother. Instead of motioning for him to leave she let him stay. “Da-” Luke stopped himself. “I mean Leroy you can’t just show up and expect me to want to see you because I don’t ever.”_

_“Buddy, you don’t mean that right?” Leroy leaned down to be at Luke’s level. Luke only shook his head. “Alright I’ll leave but I’m getting a hotel room. Let me know when you’re ready to talk.”_

_As soon as the door shut behind Leroy Luke broke down. His sobs were loud and breathy. Sherry took him in her arms and let him cry. “Why the hell did he have to show up. Everything was going great, I directed and wrote a movie, made new friends, and got a girlfriend. He had to come back and ruin it, all of it.”_

_“It’s going to be okay.” His mother promised him. Her hands rubbed his back, in an attempt to soothe him._

Kate walked into school with her head held high. On a usual day, she would have waited for a bunch of her peers to enter the hallway, only then she would feel safe to walk to her locker, but today was different.

“Hey,” the voice made Kate’s heart flip inside her chest.

Emaline smiled, carrying a binder with her. Her hair was straightened and had on a cropped top and blue jeans. “Hey,” Kate said in a nervous tone.

“It was fun talking on the phone last night.” Her voice was soft with affection. “Do you uh wanna meet at lunch or something?”

“Yes,” Kate said almost immediately after the question was asked.

Emaline’s smile widened. “Can I walk you to class?”

“Of course,” Emaline’s hands grabbed hers.

Tyler stood at his locker throwing old assignments all over the ground. He couldn’t find his math textbook. “Shit,” he mumbled under his breath.

“It’s right here,” a voice called out from behind him. He was unsure of who it was. It couldn’t be any of his guy friends, the voice was too high.

“Leslie?” he questioned as she grabbed and held the textbook out for him to grab.

“Hey Tyler,” she smiled. “I was wondering if you would be my lab partner in science.”

“Uh-” he stuttered.

Emaline stood behind both of them. “He would love to.” She finished his sentence for him.

Tyler and Leslie exchanged awkward smiles with each other and Emaline stood in awe. “Em we’re going to be late,” Kate said, emerging from behind her.

“Oh right, see you later love birds.” Emaline blew a kiss as she headed down the hall with Kate.

~

Luke laid in his bed, clutching a pillow, he had been crying for the last hour. Despite how angry he was at his father he couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to explore a relationship with him. Leroy was his father after all. He remembered Kate’s words. _“I don’t have the luxury of getting mad at my mom over petty bullshit.”_ She was right, it would be selfish to push his father away. Leroy was willing to mend their relationship, and Luke knew there was only one right thing to do.

Not long after he found himself in front of the Hotel his father had told him he would be staying at. He had told his mother he was going for a bike ride to clear his mind. Room 207 was where he was staying.

He stood outside of the room. The tv was on, he could hear it through the wall. Finding enough courage, Luke knocked on the door. His heart raced in his chest as he watched the doorknob twist.

Leroy’s eyes lit up once he saw Luke. “Hey little man, I’m so happy you're here.” Luke remained silent. “Come in.”

The room was neat. The bed was made, a suitcase laid on the ground. His father turned off the tv and motioned for him to sit on the bed. “I know this can’t be easy for you but I’m so happy you decided to come.”

Hesitantly Luke joined him on the bed. “You have no idea how pissed off I am that you're here. You left and out of the blue you showed up again thinking you could just come back into my life.”

His father sighed. “Luke I left, I was an idiot but I’m here now so can we just try to start over.”

“You know how many years I’ve spent thinking it was my fault that you left” he started.

“You should have never blamed yourself. It was my fault. I wasn’t ready to be a father Luke.”

“Then you can’t expect me to be willing to just forget everything. I can’t just push a reset button. It doesn’t work like that.” He continued, he hadn’t realized his hands had been digging into the mattress.

Leroy sighed. “I completely understand Luke, you can take as much time as you need. Just know I’m here for you when you're ready.”

Luke nodded, relaxing his hands. “Alright, well I should get going.”

The warm spring breeze left imprints on Luke’s skin as he rode his bike through the backwoods. He knew his father wanted to reconnect with him. He still wasn’t a hundred percent sure if he could handle trying to build a relationship with him. For years he dreamed about seeing him again, but when he finally did It didn’t feel anywhere near as satisfying.

~

Kate stared with anticipation at the clock above her history class doorway. She had tuned out her history teacher for at least half of the lesson. She was in an intense daydream that involved Emaline.

Emaline’s hands were tangled in Kate’s hair, her lips working on her neck. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this,” Kate mumbled into Emaline’s ear.

“Me too sweetie,” She said flirtatiously.

Emaline’s lips began to suck on a tender place on Kate’s neck. Kate moaned in pleasure, taking handfuls of the blonde’s hair into her hands.

“Ms. Messner,” a voice interrupts her daydream.

Jolting back to reality Kate saw many pairs of eyes glance over at her. “Uh, can you repeat the question?” She felt humiliated as the entire class stared at her.

Mr. Hall looked less than impressed. “Kate next time keep your eyes up on the board instead of on the clock.”

“Yes sir” she mumbled, just as the bell rang.

The class filed out of the classroom, leaving Kate to be pushed and shoved on her way out. The hallways were loud with her peers anxious to get to lunch. She navigated to her locker where Emaline waited.

“Hey Messner,” she greeted, a lollipop hung out of her mouth.

“Hey, let me put my stuff away then we can go,”

Emaline sucked on the lollipop loudly while waiting for Kate to put her things away. It reminded her of her little daydream in history she had just had. Kate had been dying to have her lips against Emaline’s again.

“Wanna ditch the gang and find somewhere more private to have lunch,” Kate suggested, closing her locker.

Emaline happily nodded, grabbing Kate’s hands and led her to the stairway where they first admitted their feelings for each other. “I’ll get us lunch, you sit tight.” Emaline winked, heading to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was disgusting as usual, trying to avoid the splattered food and wrappers scattered all over the floor she felt herself crash right into a classmate.

“Woah Emaline are you okay?” McQuaid asked, grabbing her so she wouldn’t lose her balance.

Emaline, still a little shaken up from the collision, just looked up at him. “Yeah yeah,” she replied after a few moments. “You seem mad at me, are you?”

His face remained exactly the same. “No, I'm not what makes you think that?”

She rolled her eyes. “Come with me, maybe you will finally talk to me.”

Reluctant he didn’t move so Emaline had to practically drag him out of the cafeteria. After walking for some time she pulled him into an empty classroom. “Okay spill, now,” she said, staring at him right in the eyes.

McQuaid shrugged his shoulder. “Fine, I’ll talk.” He mumbled. “The night of the premiere I saw you and Kate on the stage.”

Emaline was left shocked. She began to panic. “McQuaid-” she started not sure what to say. She now knew the reason he was being so weird around her. He had seen her lips explore Kate’s lips with a level intensity she had never experienced. He had witnessed such a vulnerable and private moment for both her and Kate. “McQuaid you can’t tell anyone about what you saw.”

“But what if I wanna tell Luke or Ty-”

“McQuaid no, please.” she pleaded, which surprised McQuaid.

He had never seen Emaline let her guard down like this. He saw how much worry she held in her eyes. “Okay, I won’t tell anybody. I promise.” He held his pinky finger out.

She smiled intertwining her pinky with his. “Thanks, you're the best.” She got up on her tiptoes and placed a small kiss on his cheek.

~

Tyler sat alone at his lunch table. Luke was gone for the day, Kate was probably with Emaline since they had gotten so close after the movie and McQuaid. He wasn’t sure where he was. It was lonely, with no one to chat with. He played with his lunch items in hopes one of them would show up.

A lunch tray slammed down next to him. A little startled he jumped in his seat. Looking up to see who it was, he wasn’t sure what to think as his eyes met hers. “Oh hey, Leslie.”

“Hey, where’s the rest of you guys.” She asked curiously, looking around at the empty table.

“Dunno,” his eyes returned to his food on the table. Tyler wasn’t sure why Leslie was suddenly so interested in him. He found it kind of annoying. “Why aren’t you hanging out with Emaline and Kate?”

“Oh them, they've both been acting weird lately. Whenever I try to talk to them all they do is ignore me and continue to talk to each other.”

Tyler squeaks loudly. “You know what be funny?” Leslie shook her head. “If they were dating or something.” He laughed to himself at the joke.

“Yeah, actually that makes sense.” She joined Tyler in the laughing fit. “Well anyway, what have you Tyler been up to?”

Tyler took a second to think.

~

Kate watches the clock, Emaline had left almost twenty minutes ago. She was worried, did Emaline bring her here just to ditch her? Just as she got up to leave, she spotted a familiar blonde through the window of the door.

Emaline pushed the door open and handed a tray to Kate. “Sorry sweetie I ran into McQuaid on the way back. We had a pretty interesting conversation. I’ll tell you about it later.”

Kate was relieved. “Thanks for getting me lunch.”

“Anything for you.” Emaline smiled into a kiss.

Kate offered to place her hands around Emaline’s waist while Emaline draped her hands over her shoulders. Emaline was far more experienced and took the dominant role in the kiss. She asked to deepen the kiss. Hesitantly Kate accepted, Emaline’s tongue roamed around her mouth. Slowly Kate added to the kiss.

The bell rang, stopping the girls right in their tracks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this show has been canceled for three years now, but I rewatched it a couple of weeks ago and decided it would be nice to continue the story of the students at Boring High.


	2. Chapter 2

“Luke honey your friends are here!” Luke’s mother shouted.

“Tell them I’ll talk to them later!” He yelled back, his head was buried under his bedsheets. He held his Gameboy tightly.

“Come on Luke I already let them in.”

Luke groaned, throwing his bedsheets over his head. He dragged his feet on the ground as he left his room. In the living room stood Tyler, McQuaid, Kate, and Emaline. What the hell was Emaline doing here? She wasn’t even his friend.

“Why are you here?” He questioned Emaline, walking towards her.

She crossed her arms. “Well, it's great to see you too Luke.”

“Whatever,” he shrugged. “Why are you guys here? I literally only missed a day.”

McQuaid raised his head to speak. “Kate has informed us that there is something very important you wanted to tell us.”

Luke glanced at Kate, she gave him a look that somehow he knew exactly what it meant. “Well I would much rather not have Emaline here, but if you guys really wanna know, then I’ll tell you.”

The whole group of teens nodded eagerly. “My father’s back in town.”

All of them exchanged similar looks. Tyler squealed a little.

“Was it cool to see him again?” Tyler asked, trying to break the tension in the room.

“Not really,” Luke said plainly.

Luke’s mother popped her head out from the kitchen. “Why don’t you kids go to the basement and put a movie on or something?”

“Kate, students, it's nice to see you.” Mr. Messner added, waving at them awkwardly.

“The principal and Luke’s mom?” Emaline said a little louder than she intended.

“They’re dating, get over it,” Luke said. “Let’s go to the basement.”

One by one all five of them made it downstairs in one piece. Tyler and McQuaid fought for a spot on the couch. Of course, McQuaid won, Tyler decided to sit on a bing-bag chair next to Luke. Emaline and Kate were set on sitting together, no one made any objections.

“Since we’re all here, wanna finish our game of Dragons and Dungeons?” Luke asked.

“Dude hell yeah!” Tyler cheered. “You in?” he said looking into McQuaid’s direction.

“Sure seeing as though I’m going to win anyways.”

“Kate, Emaline you could watch if you wanted.” Luke offered, both of them looked at each other. A new thought popped into his head. “There’s a guest room down here. You could watch something on the tv if you wanted.”

Emaline and Kate smiled at one another. “Sure that sounds cool,” Kate said, they both got up and headed towards the guest room.

“When did Emaline want to hang out with any of us?” Luke asked while gathering all the game pieces needed to play. “Just two weeks ago she wanted to rearrange our faces.”

Tyler moved to the couch to sit next to McQuaid. “I think she’s just here for Kate,” McQuaid remarked with a gloom sigh.

“Are you still upset that she didn’t have feelings for you back? I mean Oliver only left a week ago.”

“It still hurts.” McQuaid said, dropping his head into his hands.

“Cheer up McQuaid,” Tyler patted his back.

“Yeah McQuaid get your head in the game.” Luke smiled, handing him the figure he had used in the game a few weeks ago.

~

Kate sat perched up against the headboard on the bed next to Emaline. Her palms were sweating more than they have ever. She hoped Emaline hadn’t noticed. Her eyes tried their hardest to focus on the tv. She soon felt a hand reach over to grab hers. Her chest tightened a little.

“Kate?” Emaline asked, turning her body to face Kate.

“Yeah?”

“How did you know you were into girls and not into guys?” Kate raises her brow, Emaline immediately back-pedaled. “Sorry that I asked. We could change the subject.”

Kate shook her head and squeezed Emaline’s hand. “I don’t really know I guess I’ve always known. I’ve never really had crushes on guys.” Emaline nodded and encouraged her to continue. “When Luke asked me out it felt wrong for so many reasons. I mean I still love him as a friend and all but you know. How long have you known?”

Emaline took a moment to think. “I guess I’ve known for a while but being with Oliver and everything I wanted to convince myself I was one hundred straight. I guess when I found my older brother’s magazines I was a little curious.” A blush began to creep up on her face. “ I’ve always had a tiny crush on you.”

“You're lying, how could you have a crush on me?”

Emaline chuckled. “Kate you never give yourself a chance. You're so pretty, prettier than you’ll ever realize.”

Kate smiled inclining her head. “Thanks.”

Emaline placed a hand under the taller girl's chin and lifted it up slowly to meet her eyes. “Is it okay if I kiss you?”

Kate reached up and toyed with a lock of the blonde’s hair. “Go for it.”

Emaline leaned into a tender yet passionate kiss. Her hands travel down Kate’s torso to rest on her thighs. Emaline smiled slightly as she heard Kate’s breathing quicken. Her thoughts began to roam off as the kiss intensified. Emaline wouldn't have believed herself if she would have told her fifteen-year-old self she would be into girls. More importantly Kate Messner. The girl she had harassed for years, all because she was scared to admit to herself that she liked her.

Guys were what the world had told her we're all she could like. It would be completely wrong to want a girl. Or even have an out-of-the-norm thought about one. So for almost all of her highschool years leading up to this, she let guys control her. It was the only way Emaline knew to distract herself from the thoughts of other girls.

“Kate, Emaline Luke’s mom is ordering pizza. She wants to know what you want on your slices.” Tyler’s high-pitched voice called from the other side of the door.

Kate pulled away, a panic expression sat on her face. “Shit, what do we say.”

“Will both have pepperoni,” Emaline told Tyler.

“Nice, k cool bye.”

~

Tyler returned to the kitchen, Luke, McQuaid, Mr. Messner, and Ms. O'Neil were enjoying each other's company. “They both want pepperoni,” Tyler announced, interrupting all the conversations in the room.

“I wonder what they’ve been doing?” Luke shrugged his shoulders.

“Girlstuff I guess,” McQuaid mumbled, his hands tugging on the buttons on his shirt.

“Well you boys should get them soon I just ordered the pizza.” Ms. O'Neil offered, she held the phone to her chest.

“Okay, mom.” Luke gave his mom a thumbs up and ushered McQuaid and Tyler back to the basement.

Luke heard laughter coming from the guest room. It was familiar, a small part of him wished it was him who made her laugh. He still liked her, a lot, something about Kate stuck out to him. She wasn’t like other girls. She wasn’t obsessed with being popular or having the most expensive shit to flaunt around.

But she wasn’t into him. In fact, she wasn’t into guys at all. A part of him had known that for some time but the other part didn’t want to accept it. He missed having her by his side as his girlfriend.

Shaking the thought out of his head Luke knocked on the door. Some more laughing followed as the door swung open. Kate had the widest smile he’s ever seen her have on her face. Emaline stood there, her arm resting on Kate’s shoulder.

“Hi-yah Lukie” Emaline jokes, which earns a laugh from Kate.

“Don’t call me that.” Luke rolled his eyes.

Kate brushed past him, Emaline not behind her. Luke followed the girls to the couch.

“Let's watch something until the food gets here.” Luke’s fingers run across the bookshelf directly next to the tv. There were at least a hundred different movies to pick from. The one thing the O'Neills we’re known for was their movie selection.

After a long debate on what to watch they ended watching a classic _Back to The Future_.

~

Emaline sat next to Kate still at a reasonable distance from her. She didn’t want to give Tyler or Luke reason to believe otherwise due to the absurd circumstances. Good thing her hands were covered by a blanket. Her fingers had been intertwined with Kate’s for the majority of the night.

Not wanting to admit it, Emaline actually kind of enjoyed the secretiveness of her new relationship with Kate. McQuaid had been eyeing her since the movie started. She knew he had promised to keep it under wraps but his staring wasn’t helping.

She still hadn’t told Kate about what McQuaid had seen the night of the movie. She wanted to savor all of her time with Kate. Wanted to keep it on a good note. There was no way in hell she was going to ruin tonight.

“Kids pizza’s here!” Mr. Messner yelled from the basement door.

The boys almost bulldozed over Mr. Messner trying to get to the pizza first. Kate patted his shoulder, shaking her head sarcastically. He smiled, waving at Emaline as she walked up the stairs.

Tyler, Luke, and McQuaid piled piece after piece on their plates. Kate grabbed a couple of pieces, Emaline offering for the same amount.

“Why don’t you guys take it slow.” Kate’s father offered, right as the teens were exciting the dining room.

“Don’t worry I have two brothers a little older than them. Believe me, they’ll finish it.” Emaline told him, smiling.

“Oh yeah how are Mathew and Leo doing?” Ken asked, making small talk with the girl.

“They're good, both in college.”

“Well that's wonderful, tell your father he raised good kids.” He smiled, bringing a piece of pizza to his mouth.

“Will do.”

~

Kate had totally forgotten how many Addario’s there were. Emaline never mentioned much about her siblings other than Julia. She had seen Julia in the halls, she was only a year younger than Kate. She wasn’t even aware of her brother's names. She made sure to make a mental note to ask Emaline more about her family.

After a couple more movies the group called it a night. She laid slumped in front of the tv, eyes growing heavier as the show dragged on. Her father was passed out on the lazy boy in the corner of the living room. It was hard not to know when her father was asleep, his snores were excruciatingly loud.

The credits soon started to roll, signaling for Kate to head up to bed. She hopped in the shower, washed her face, and climbed into bed.

Many thoughts came creeping into her head. So many new ones since she had started seeing Emaline. Tired and reckless from the events of the last couple of weeks, Kate soon found herself fighting to keep her eyes open.

On the opposite side of the town, Emaline laid in her sister's bed. Julia was sketching something in her notebook while Emaline did her nails. Going in tune with Emaline’s slight personality change she decided to go with a neutral color other than an exotic out there choice.

“You seem less pissed off than usual. With Oliver gone I was sure you were going to do some crazy stunt at school. Leo and I actually made a bet. I owe that ass five bucks now.” Julia finally said.

“Jules, why do you and Leo always place bets on me?” Emaline sighed, blowing on her nails to help speed up the drying time.

“Duh, your the most dramatic Addario.” She giggled, returning her attention to her sketch. “Why have you been so quote-on-quote normal anyways?”

“I don’t know, why does it always concern you when I act like the rest of the family?” Emaline said, clearly getting annoyed with her sister.

“There’s definitely a reason why you're acting like this.”

“Drop it, Jules.” Emaline was about done with her sister.

Footsteps boomed towards Julia’s room. “Night girls, try to get some sleep.” Their father slurred as he popped his head into the door.

Emaline knew he was buzzed. When was he ever sober anymore? Ever since her mother left he had been like this. He wasn’t a good drunk. He used to be such a great father, a picture-perfect one as one would say. Things had gotten worse the last few years. With both Leo and Mathew out of the house, it was almost as if he had completely given up.

If Emaline didn’t have Julia things would have been so much worse. And for that, she was so thankful. Even if the two girls seemed like they hated each other, deep down they had a strong bond. They had to because if they didn’t life would be a complete hell-hole.

“Night dad,” Julia replied, elbowing Emaline to nod along.

With that their father turned around, Emaline caught a glimpse of a large bottle in his hand as he walked off. Julia saw it too, a frown soon fell on her face. Emaline leaned over to comfort her sister. Usually, Julia would have brushed her off but instead, she let her head rest against Emaline's chest.

Times like this are what made their bond so strong.

~

Tyler opened his bedroom door to see a letter placed on his desk. Excited he ran over to see who it was from. The handwriting gave it away almost immediately. The envelope didn’t give away too much information, so he was eager to rip it open.

_Dear Protege,_

_It's Oliver, I am deeply sorry I haven’t reached out sooner. I’ve just been so busy exploring the city. It is much more exciting than I ever imagined it being. I’ve met some fascinating people here. Still miss you, the drama club, and that curly blonde-headed that at times could be a little much with great passion. I am trusting you to keep this letter between the two of us. Just for the time being. Anyways back to what I was saying, New York, is just something else. Wish you were here to travel it with me. I am planning on returning to Borning, while it might not be soon I will most definitely return. Until we meet again I would like to keep in contact with you through writing. If you're up for writing back please do not keep me waiting long._

_Oliver_

_He had written to him, even if it was short at least he did. Butterflies flew around his stomach from the excitement of the thought of writing back. He knew he was a terrible writer, he had been his whole life but he didn’t care. He was going to write Oliver back no matter how hard it would be to read his letter._

_Dear Oliver,_

_I’m so gald to hear from you. I wans’t sure if I would ever see you again. The movie was a compete sucess. McQuaid repleced you and got to kiss Emaline. It was his first, you know kiss. It was a liitle wired but it ended up meking the fnail cut. Took the advise you gave me still no girls. Hope you can give me some pionters. Emaline’s like alweys with Kate. Kinda wierd to see her act so difernt. Luke’s been pratty on edge since his dad got back. Its whetever I guess. Sorry for all the typos. Will try to get better, get a tutor or something. Hope you come bcak soon I miss you dude._

_Tyler_

Tyler read it one last time, satisfied he sealed it with his tongue. Grabbing a stamp from the kitchen, he tried his hardest to place it on straight. It ended up croaked hanging over the edge of the envelope. Still happy with the letter he copied the address from Oliver’s letters onto the envelope. He stuck it in his backpack to remind him to deliver it in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

Tyler held a sealed envelope ready to place it in his mailbox to send off to New York. He was both nervous and excited. Nervous because he wasn’t sure what Oliver would think about the letter. Excited to hear back.

Finally, he placed the letter in the mailbox and flipped up the red flag. Quickly he hopped on his bike and headed towards school.

~

“Have a Boring day!” Jessica Betts concluded the morning announcements. Scott threw his arm over her shoulder and waved at the camera.

“We’re clear.” Mr. Stargrove announced from the sound booth.

Emaline sat in the corner waiting for Kate to finish up. McQuaid had grown a little annoyed at how much time the two girls have spent together recently. Don’t get him wrong he was happy for them, it was just getting hard for him to know something Luke and Tyler were completely oblivious to.

His feelings for her were still there threatening to reveal themself yet again, he was so angry at himself for it. Why the hell couldn’t he just move on? Emaline could care less about McQuaid romantically.

His thoughts were abruptly stopped by Luke’s voice. “McQuaid what the hell are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” McQuaid mumbled as he adjusted one of the camera lenses that were used for filming.

Luke had started speaking to him but he was too busy watching Emaline and Kate out of the corner of his eye. He had heard of girls liking girls, his parents dispensed gay people. McQuaid’s uncle had come out to his family, to be left shunned and ignored. He hadn’t seen him since his seventh birthday.

McQuaid himself wasn’t sure how he felt about lesbians or gays. Yes, they were considered weird and outcasts, he agreed partially with that statement. Only because Emaline liking Kate and Kate liking Emaline didn’t change the way he viewed them. He did have to agree, he found it weird, liking the same gender was hard for him to wrap his head around entirely.

He watched as Emaline and Kate goofed around.

“I can’t believe you. You lied to me, you did have an extra piece of chocolate.” Emaline pouted, rubbing her eyes.

Kate laughed, waving the bar in front of Emaline’s face. “Well, I’m going to eat it later so don’t even try.”

Emaline reached over trying to grab the chocolate, Kate held it out of arm's reach from her. Emaline took advantage of her strength and lightly pushed her. Kate stumbled, chocolate still secure in her hand.

The two girls' eyes locked together, for a moment McQuaid was almost certain they were going to kiss. In front of the whole AV club, but both of them seemed to sense their surroundings and offer small smiles.

McQuaid’s eyes find themselves back in Luke’s direction.

“Dude, are you even listening? You've been cleaning that camera forever.” Luke asked a hint of annoyance in his voice.

McQuaid shakes his head. “Sorry, I’m listening now. Please continue.”

“So like I was saying, when I wasn’t at school yesterday I went to his hotel room.”

McQuaid, confused, raising an eyebrow. “Who?”

“My dad McQuaid” Luke sighed. “I talked to him, it was pretty awkward. I have no idea what to do. He’s my dad in all, and there's no changing that. I’m just not sure how to, you know, talk to him. I barely know him anymore.”

“Well if I was you I would try. Just try. It would be weird not having my dad around.” McQuaid replied, not sure if he was helping Luke with his problems.

“Okay, thanks, dude.”

~

Emaline and Kate walked side by side out of the AV room. A comfortable silence was shared between them. Kate couldn’t help but smile as she looked over at Emaline. Everything about Emaline fascinated her. For starters how confident, Emaline was, being able to always have her head up, no matter what others thought of her. How bold her personality was, sticking out from every other classmate Kate had met. She was everything Kate envied. She also liked being able to see the side of Emaline the outside world was locked out of. The soft vulnerable blonde that she had kissed on the stage.

Kate blushed when Emaline turned to face her. “Whatcha thinking about sweetie?” Emaline said softly.

“You,” Kate said shyly. Emaline kept eye contact with her. The same reddish color appeared on her face.

“Oh really, was it good?” The shorter of the two asked, biting her lip.

“May-”

“Hey, guys!” Leslie interrupted enthusiastically, standing next to Emaline.

Kate heard a quiet sigh from Emaline. Leslie didn’t seem to notice it, continuing to talk. “Where were you guys at lunch yesterday?”

“We were at the library studying.” Emaline said after a few seconds of silence.

“Oh really for what?”

Kate could tell Emaline was struggling to come up with an excuse. “I read over some notes for Hill’s class and.” She paused, trying to come up with another excuse for Emaline. “Em was reading for Ms. Monroe’s.”

Emaline nodded along, a relieved look crossed her face. She mouthed “Thank you” as the three girls made their way down the hall.

~

Luke sat next to McQuaid and Tyler. They were in a deep conversation about the newest Star Wars movie. Usually Luke would have butted in, stating his stance. But today he couldn’t get his father out of his mind. He still hasn't told his mom about his visit to his father’s hotel room. For the time being, he wanted to keep it that way.

Leroy was unpredictable, Luke knew that well. Leroy’s spontaneousness was what caused so many of the fights between his parents. Like that time he bought a RV without telling his mother or when he booked tickets to L.A not knowing how he was going to get the money together to pay for them. He knew his mother wasn’t ready to let someone like Leroy back into both her and Luke’s life.

Three more people sit down, snapping Luke out of his thoughts. It was Kate, Leslie, and Emaline. Only Kate was technically welcomed at the table. Leslie somehow weaseled her way into the friend group. Admittedly no one knew how she did. As for Emaline, he wasn’t happy she started tagging along with Kate.

Emaline was the girl who only weeks ago made his life a living hell. Then after Oliver left she decided to attach herself to Kate and everyone else just went along with it. He was pissed for sure.

Tyler and McQuaid continued to talk, Leslie joining the conversation. Emaline and Kate flipped through a magazine together, which was out of view for Luke to see. They would point at something, laugh, and then flip to the next page.

“Luke, you okay?” Kate asked, looking at him concerned. Emaline looked up briefly before returning her gaze to the magazine.

“Yeah, why?”

“You're kinda staring at Emaline and I.” She said awkwardly.

“Sorry I’ve just been so worked up about my dad.”

“I’m sorry.” She said, her eyes filled with sorrow. “I know it's my fault.”

Kate still blamed herself for this, Luke wanted to reassure her that it wasn’t her fault. “Kate it's not. Believe me.”

She slowly nodded to be cut short by the bell. Signaling all the students their free period was over. With that, everyone started to disburse.

“I’ll catch you later. I think your mom invited us over for dinner tonight.” Kate said quickly, Emaline waited impatiently for her near the door.

“Kate you coming?” Emaline asked, urging Kate to join her.

“Ok see ya.” Luke waved, heading to his next class along with a hundred other students.

~

“Today you and your lab partner will be working on finding a new energy source to power a lightbulb.” Tyler’s Science teacher Mr. Baker explained, holding up a demo. “This is an example from one of my students from a couple of years ago. They found a way to redirect the power input to a pickle.”

“Really?” One of Tyler’s peers questioned curiosity.

“Yes, it was actually Oliver Schermerhorn. He was one of the best students that year.” Mr. Baker found himself trailing off. “Anyways I will pass out the light bulbs and any other materials you need. As you wait for your light bulbs, start to come up with a plan with your partner.”

Tyler frowned at the mention of Oliver. He missed him more than he thought he would have. Though he only knew Oliver for a short period of time, he felt as though it was time well spent.

“Ok, what were you thinking.” Leslie leaned over, grabbing a piece of paper.

Tyler scooted closer to Leslie. “Uh, I guess we could try a apple or something.”

Leslie wrote both of their names on the worksheet. Writing down his idea too. “We should come up with some others. Just so we have other options if the apple doesn’t work.”

They spent the rest of class trying to come up with other ideas for the project. Tyler didn’t want to admit it, but he was actually having an alright time with Leslie. She was pretty smart and nice. He knew the rest of his friends didn’t really like her so he wasn’t sure what to do.

“Well, we should start to pack up,” Leslie said, gathering her belongings.

“Oh right.” Tyler shoved a couple of pieces of paper into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. “Well see you tomorrow.”

Leslie smiled, waving before making her way to the door.

“Wait!” Tyler felt himself say. Leslie stopped and turned on her heel. “You wanna hang out with me at the park after school or something.”

“Yeah totally.” She replied happily. Tyler sighed in relief, squealing nervously.

“See ya later.” Leslie turned back to the door, soon out of range of Tyler’s sightline.

Shit, what did he just do? Did he really just ask out of Leslie and she said yes? How he got the courage to, he had no idea. It was such a big thing to ask, and he just did it without any thought. In the moment he thought back to Oliver. Oliver would have been so happy for him.

He left the science room with a new wave of confidence coming over him. Sure no one else would know it but Tyler was proud of himself. Soon his feet stopped next to Luke’s locker. He rested his body against the locker next to Luke’s.

“Dude dude dude guess what I just did?” Tyler beamed, anxiously waiting for Luke’s response.

“What ?” Luke shut his locker, in order to close the barrier between the two of them.

“I asked out Leslie.” Tyler cheered. “I don’t know how I did but she said yes.”

“Shit Ty good for you. Leslie? Never knew you had a thing for her.”

“Me either a guess I never noticed I did until today. We're going to meet at the park after school. You need to help me prepare.”

Luke sighed. “I really shouldn’t be the one giving you advice. Kate dumped me after what three weeks of dating because she’s-. Nevermind.”

“What.” Tyler pushed on.

“Nothing, it's Kate’s decision to tell you if she feels comfortable.”

“Okay,” Tyler said slowly, a little confused.

~

Tyler swung back and forth on a swing, Leslie sat on the one next to him. His nerves danced around in his body, leaving a tingling sensation in his hands. He had never been alone with a girl for this long before. Luke had told him to be himself and things would be fine.

Taking a deep breath Tyler gathered his words. “I’m glad you're here.”

“Me too,” Leslie said simply, eyes on his hands. “Wanna hold my hand?”

As Leslie asked to hold Tyler’s hands, he realized how sweaty they were. “Uh, I don’t know if you would want to.”

She frowned, returning eye contact with him. “Why did I do something wrong?”

Tyler’s eyes widened. “No not at all my-” he stuttered, a small squeak left his mouth. “My hands are really sweaty.” His voice cracking nervously.

Grinning she grabbed his hand. “I don’t mind, I think it's kinda cute.”

He let out a sigh squealing her hand. The two of them swung back and forth, hands intertwined for the next thirty minutes. Tyler was pleasantly surprised to learn how many things he had in common with her. The annoyance he once held for her was quickly replaced by a warm fuzzy feeling slowly starting in his stomach.

~  
Kate laid in her bed finishing up her homework when a knock at the front door caught her attention. After a couple of minutes of muffled voices, footsteps neared her door.

“Kate, are you in there?” Emaline’s voice called out as she knocked on the door softly.

Kate, curious, quickly jumped off her bed and answered the door. Her small smile immediately turned upside down once meeting Emaline’s eyes. The blonde’s lips were buffy, eyes bloodshot. Something Kate had never seen from Emaline.

“Hey what's wrong?” Kate questioned Emaline wrapping her up into an embrace. After getting no response from the shorter girl, Kate led the two of them to her bed.

Emaline snuggled into Kate’s chest as they got situated. It took a few minutes for Emaline to fully stop crying, when she did, her lips placed a soft kiss on Kate’s. The taste of cigarettes and cherry lipstick was overpowering as Emaline climbed on top of the brunette.

After kissing for some time, Emaline began to pull her shirt over her shoulders. “Em, wait,” Kate muttered.

Emaline confused, took it the wrong way. “Do you not want me?” Her eyes filled with tears yet again.

Kate shook her head, cupping Emaline’s cheeks with her hands. “No, I want you, all of you. I’m just not ready yet.”

“Sorry I’ve never really known any other way to communicate with people other than sex.” Biting her lip, she breaks eye contact with Kate.

“Well let's talk, okay? Then we can go from there.” Kate said softly in a reassuring tone.

Emaline nodded, returning her gaze to Kate’s face. “Oliver or any of the other guys I’ve been with would have never just talked to me. They would have made me wait until they finished and off in their own world in order for me to have an actual conversation with them.”

Kate stroked her girlfriend's face. “I’m sorry Em.” She sighed. “So what’s going on.”

Kate studied Emaline’s face carefully. She saw pain within her ocean blue eyes. There was so much to Emaline Kate had yet to know. Behind the tough girl act the blond put up was someone hurting. Someone hiding from the world.

“It's my dad.” Emaline started, her voice almost a whisper. The tone was unfamiliar for Emaline to use. “He’s an alcoholic.”

“Oh, Em I’m so sorry.” Kate took a loose strain of Emaline’s hair and placed it behind her ear. Her heart dropped into her stomach as her hands ran over red newly caused bruises on Emaline’s arms. They were imprints of hands.

_“Emaline, come here now” Emaline’s father shouted, the smell of beer strong on his breath._

_His hands practically force her body closer to his. She attempted to escape his grip, which only proved to make things worse. Angry he tightened his fingers around her arms._

_“Dad I told you it wasn’t me who took the money from the counter.” She pleaded._

_Her father could be very forgetful when he was under the influence. He often took his forgetfulness out on Emaline and her sister. Today was worse than normal because it involved money that her father probably spent on either beer or cigarettes._

_“Emaline don’t you dare lie to me.” He hissed, spitting as he shouted._

_Emaline trying to defend herself continued to talk. “Dad I already told you I didn’t do it. It was probably you.”_

_In a blink of an eye, Mr. Addario used his strength to push her into the wall directly behind them. With the alcohol running through his body he let her hit the wall more than once._

_Thankfully Julia eventually entered the room, pulling her father off of Emaline._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is not edited very thoroughly just a heads up. Wanted to get it published as soon as I could.


End file.
